Keggle Question

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LumberjackJohn

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Hey everyone, I just picked up a sanke keg from a guy of Craigslist and I hope to convert it to a keggle soon. I just had a question about the dangers of boiling with these. I have heard that you need to have holes in the skirt, but I'm not sure why. Are these the right holes?

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When I told the guy I brewed my own beer he asked me what type. I told him it'd probably be an India Pale Ale, and he goes "Oh, is that like a dark beer?" I swear all BMC drinkers think anything that isn't BMC is dark!
 
No, those are not the holes. Look on the actual bottom rim, there will be some little holes in it. If you lay it on its side or flip it over on its top, you will see them.
 
Thanks Blender! I was looking for pics on google and I searched on here and couldn't find anything. That picture is perfect! I will drill holes tomorrow then!
 
I've never heard of this. I know the holes are there originally for draining of beer and other liquids so there is less build up or likelihood of mold etc. Why do we need them if it's converted to a keggle?
 
Thanks Blender! I was looking for pics on google and I searched on here and couldn't find anything. That picture is perfect! I will drill holes tomorrow then!

I've never seen one without holes, and the 8 I have all came with holes in them already!

I've never heard of this. I know the holes are there originally for draining of beer and other liquids so there is less build up or likelihood of mold etc. Why do we need them if it's converted to a keggle?

There are some rare ones out there without holes in them. The pictures linked by Bender show that, given the right set of circumstances, they can build up pressure (water + heat = steam) and explode.
 
so can you close off those larger vent holes to decrease heat loss during boiling?

You could do that, but IMO it would be a complete waste of time and effort. The heat loss through those holes is negligible relative to the amount of heat that escapes everywhere else. It is an extremely trivial amount. Matter of fact, you may actually decrease the burner performance if you do that. It would require some fairly sophisticated testing and calculations to know for certain, but there is a chance that the holes help improve the heat flow. The keg skirt could act to trap a bubble of hot gas and actually deflect some of the hot gasses coming off the burner. The vent holes might help reduce that effect. I'm guessing at this, but in any case, I certainly would not bother closing up those vent holes.
 
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